A nacelle is a streamlining element making it possible to protect a jet of an aircraft. A nacelle usually comprises a forward air-intake section, a middle section designed to surround a fan of the turbojet, and an aft section formed from at least a first and a second half-shells mounted rotatably on a pylon so as to be able to be deployed each between a working position and a maintenance position.
The two half-shells are linked together at top and bottom junction zones by means of locking devices.
A conventional locking device placed in the junction zone of the nacelle comprises a locking system designed to be mounted on a first half-shell of the nacelle, interacting with a retention member designed to be mounted on a second half-shell, the locking system being able to be actuated between a locked state and an unlocked state relative to the retention member, the locking system and the retention member being able to be moved relative to one another between a drawn-together position of the latter in which they can be locked relative to one another and a separated position of the latter.
Conventionally, the locking system is fitted with a handle which the maintenance operators tend to fold down for reasons of convenience so that this handle does not protrude from the wall of the nacelle in its bottom portion so as not to hamper the operator.
When the operator folds the handle down and the half-shells are in a position separated from one another, this may cause the locking of the locking system depending on the position of the latter.
The operator, seeing the two half-shells separated from one another, risks considering that the half-shells are correctly unlocked from one another although this is not the case. Therefore, this situation may at the least lead to harmful damage to the equipment when the two half-shells are separated.